1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bifunctional-type vehicle headlamp, such as a projector-type vehicle headlamp, capable of obtaining a plurality of light distribution patterns including a low-beam light distribution pattern and a high-beam light distribution pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional projector-type vehicle headlamp as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-59311 includes a light source, a reflector, a projector lens, a shade, a spring member, and a solenoid.
When the light source lights up, a light emitted from the light source is reflected to the sides of the shade and the projector lens by a reflecting surface of the reflector. Then, the reflected light is projected ahead of a vehicle by the projector lens. At this time, a position of the shade is switched among a plurality of positions by the actions of the spring member and a retractable rod of the solenoid. As a result, the reflected light towards the projector lens is also switched among a plurality of beams in a plurality of light distribution patterns.
However, in the conventional vehicle headlamp, a position of the shade is switched in an upward direction or a downward direction (in a vertical direction), so that a direction in which a spring force of the spring member acts is also the vertical direction. Therefore, in a case in which a dome-shaped spring, for example, a spring member 60 shown in FIG. 4, is used as the spring member, a height of the spring member 60 viewed from the front and lateral sides disadvantageously increases, and thus a height of the entire vehicle headlamp also increases.